unravel
verb (used with object)
to separate or disentangle the threads of (a woven or knitted fabric, a rope, etc.).
had unraveled
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past perfectof unravel.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Wall Street Journal published a feature on Earle, writing that the relationship between the influencer and her podcast network had unraveled.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2026
She also confessed to the crowd that she had a “broken” dress — a back that had unraveled, apparently during the evening’s most high energy moment…
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 11, 2024
It was another aspect of the social contract between employer and employee that had unraveled.
From Salon ● Nov. 22, 2022
The conflict between police and protesters in Grant Park, broadcast internationally, projected the sense that the national consensus, and the country itself, had unraveled at the seams.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 1, 2021
And few places in the country were as chaotic as Osage County, where the unwritten codes of the West, the traditions that bound communities, had unraveled.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
